Pregnancy

“Have you taken your placenta pills today?” was a common and frequent question asked of me by my husband in the early days after delivering my first baby. I was hormonal, emotional and exhausted as most new moms are. There wasn’t much else my husband could to do to help other than encourage some healthy pill popping.

I get so darn excited about progression photos! It’s so funny that they make the process look so quick when it’s anything but for me! Regardless, they’re fun to have, and share – so here’s some various looks at how my bump turned into a baby!

It’s hard to explain to people who haven’t been here, the tricks your mind plays on you when you’ve passed your due date and your baby hasn’t arrived. It’s a tough moment in time, so much anticipation and no action. Every second you’re wondering, is it time? What about now? Will baby ever come out!? What can I do to encourage it? What am I doing wrong? To induce or not to induce?

Dramatic? Sure. But it also isn’t surprising that it’s all you can think about since for the last 9 1/2 months, you’ve been counting down to this one DAY. And once the day passes, every minute feels like another day too long. And if you’ve had an uncomfortable pregnancy (yup, raising both hands here!), the extra hours feel like unfair torture.

Tomorrow is D-date! I had a feeling this baby wouldn’t be early (Ellie was 4 days late) but I probably could have packed my hospital bag a little sooner than the day before. Since everything has been gathered, I thought I’d share a run down of what I’m bringing this time. It’s a lot LESS than I packed last time – and I probably still won’t use it all.

When my good friend and sister asked what I envisioned for my Baby Sprinkle, I told them I just wanted an intimate gathering with my closest friends over a pretty table setting. My dreamy garden baby sprinkle grew from there. Not only was the table beautiful but my sister made all the girls flower crowns (LOVE!) and we drank bubbly (or fake bubbly), ate a delicious brunch and created dream catchers over good conversation and laughs. I felt like one very very lucky Mama.

Third Trimester, here I come! It feels good to be this far along, feeling proud of accomplishing the task of making it through the first two trimesters. My bump is full and on display and baby is constantly reminding me that she’s very busy growing in there. Strangers congratulate me, friends and family are getting more and more excited for us and Ellie can finally SEE (and feel, as of last week) the tangible evidence of the baby sister we keep talking about.

I think I’ve done a good job of covering the less-fun parts of pregnancy pretty well. But, it’s not all suffering; there are some upsides – like the ultrasounds, and baby kicks and the fact that I fit into my C-cup bra again (I had to downsize after Ellie, boo hoo). And right up there on the top of the list is cute maternity clothes. I actually LOVE having a bump (although it does itch like crazy) and dressing it is something I enjoy!

Some things are just common knowledge when it comes to nutrition and pregnancy, like the fact that you can’t eat sushi or drink alcohol while you’re expecting. And it’s safe to assume that most people know you should increase your calories by up to 300 per day – and that you should be eating as healthy and clean as possible.

One piece of vital information that I was never supplied with (by my doctors, maternity classes, online resources or books) is the importance of increasing my protein intake, especially in the second trimester.

I wasn’t going to write this post. Why not? Because I know all I’m going to do is whine and complain. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. So how can I put a positive spin on this? Make it a tale of survival? That might work…let’s see.

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hello and welcome

I'm a very happily married, mommy of two working to find my (healthy) balance in this crazy world! An event planner for over 12 years, I secretly dream of trading the million dollar corporate events for backyard birthday parties. I’ve always been relatively healthy but since the birth of my first daughter in 2013, I have become seriously committed to learning and implementing ways to kick it up a notch. From the food we eat, to the products we put on our skin, to the thoughts we think – it’s all a part of the big picture!!